The rest of the route was pretty similar some wonderful descents which really put a smile on my face and some tough climbs. The mud however made the going very tough and very slow, the hours kept ticking by but it felt as though the miles did not.
Cp5 was at the 25 mile mark and I must say it was quite tough at this point. I was running back and forward with two blokes at this point but then decided I needed to up the pace a bit so I went past them on a steep climb up Pen Milan and then managed to zoom away as it was an amazing grass descent. A lovely road section followed so unlike me to say that but after all the mud I was so happy to be on firm ground. The stream crossing was good fun and then at cp 7 I knew it wasn't that far to go! However it felt like a long way. This section again was very tough, steep valley sides, mud and lose rock I just could not get going! The run into the finish was exhausting and I can honestly say that the conditions made this the hardest ultra I have done.
I was first lady in a time of 7.39 but I felt very lonely on the route and even had to listen to music to keep me going! Maybe ultra running at a higher level is a lonely experience.......hopefully I will enjoy the May one more and it will be a little drier. I think at the moment I am still quite weak mentally, I get to four hours and I am bored. However I am improving but don't think I will ever want to do LONG ultra races.
